[Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] MarkGiardini:
Here's my review - hope it helps.

Ok so I have had my RN3 Pro for a whopping 7 days now so here's a few things to take away which may help you.

I ordered from Vickmall, the golden 32GB/3GB version I think with conversion was about $380 AUD so not too bad.

- I (stupidly?) took the free postage offer, which I guess from years of ordering cycling gear from the UK where free postage is the norm, and delivery is within 7 days, seemed to be no major issue.

- In hindsight, 2.5 weeks to my door wasn't too shabby, but their poor tracking system means the parcel is often in a completely different country by the time the tracking information is updated (mine is still showing last updated from the 9th of Feb)

On to the phone :

- Well he(she) arrived in a standard China post box which contained the bubble wrapped Mi box, a silicone case (basic, but does the job) tempered glass screen protector and some wipes to clean the screen. External packaging looked worse for wear, but not issues with the internal box (Kudos to Vickmall for the bubble wrap!)

- Mi box was opened I assumed so they could fire up the phone and do a QC check maybe. All films etc were still on the phone.

- Vickmall included a pretty average looking China-AU adapter which actually does the job for now, but I wouldn't want to leave this thing on unattended.

- Despite my repeatedly asking, Vickmall DID NOT install Google Play or Google Apps, but that's literally a 10 minute job to set it up (I honestly believe the people manning the online chat don't relay any customer requests to those who ship the item)

The phone itself is actually a very high quality, feels well balanced, lighter than my Moto X Style and slightly narrower too, and at least 1mm thinner. It's more similar in size to an iPhone 6 and no dramas with it being too big for the average user.

- Bezels are small and the chins aren't overly large or look out of proportion.

- The included silicone case is cheap but it does the job, for now.

- Phone takes a combo of micro sim and SD card (at once) or nano sim on it's own (as it goes in the SD card slot)

- Phone booted up quickly enough, and once I connected to the wifi it ran some OTA updates to the MIUI OS which took about 10-15 mins.

- I installed Google Playstore and Google Apps easily enough and then installed Nova to replace MIUI. MIUI actually isn't that bad, but I prefer the Nova feel myself.

So in reality it probably took no more than ½ hour to set the phone up. It came about 50% charged so I had adequate time to play around with it and move photos, music etc over to it and get it feeling like my Moto X.

So what do I like -

Battery life is great. It was at 100% at midnight, it's 9.15 now and still on 85% with some Facebook, IG etc.

Camera is actually pretty good, with great filters, modes etc.

Sound is plenty loud and clear even considering the rear mounted speaker.

Display is super sharp (IMHO 1080p is more than adequate for 5.5" screen)

Screen sensitivity is awesome. No missed touches etc.

FM radio. I actually missed this on my Moto X Style.

Snappy and accurate finger print scanner.

Expandable memory, thank God!!

Big battery (take note Motorola / Lenovo)

What am I not so keen on -

Nothing really. Being a Chinese phone means that most of the deep rooted files, ie ring tones and themes are in Chinese, however I downloaded one of the many aftermarket apps and got my own ringtones, alarm tones, message tones etc.

There are Chinese ones pre-loaded, but being in Chinese I couldn't actually understand what I was looking at.

Nothing seems to indicate quick charging from the standard included charger (is this normal?)

For mine, for the cost, there's not a great deal out there that's any better. A full 1080p screen, huge battery, metal construction, 3GB with expandable memory and a pretty good camera all for just over $350 is a bargain.

Even tho the phone is a meant for the Chinese market, so it's essentially a Chinese model, don't be put off. Literally ½ hour of time, plus Youtube and Whirlpool forums, and you will find it's actually pretty basic to get it up and humming!

4/5 rating for me!